Chapter 540: Suspicion (II)
Under his father's terrifying pressure, Ning Ji'an's body trembled slightly. His blood qi churned as he struggled to remain standing. His face turned pale, his entire body quivering.
"Yes, Father. I will remember," Ning Ji'an said, his voice trembling.
"Mm. When you fought him, did you sense any bloodline power?" the middle-aged man asked calmly.
"Bloodline?" Ning Ji'an was slightly taken aback, not expecting such a question.
He fell silent for a moment, recalling the battle. Though brief, at his current level, every detail of the fight replayed in his mind with perfect clarity.
Ning Ji'an pondered for a moment before shaking his head. "No."
He possessed powerful bloodline powers. If Lin Zheyu had a bloodline as well, Ning Ji'an would have sensed it immediately the moment they clashed.
"Are you suspecting..." Ning Ji'an asked in confusion.
But his father had no intention of answering. The middle-aged man waved his hand and said calmly, "Leave. I don't want to see you like this again. It's disgraceful..."
With that, the overwhelming pressure filling the hall vanished instantly.
"Yes." Ning Ji'an felt the weight lift from his body and slowly straightened his back.
Under the man's piercing gaze, he regained his usual composure and pride before walking out of the hall.
After Ning Ji'an left, the middle-aged man said calmly, "Ning Shu."
The space within the hall rippled like a still lake struck by a pebble. A man dressed in a fitted green robe stepped out from the ripples.
"Your orders, my lord." Ning Shu clasped his fists respectfully.
"Investigate Xiao Yu's background. At the Divine Repository realm, defeating Xiao An so easily is not something an ordinary martial artist without bloodline powers could accomplish," the middle-aged man said calmly.
Before reaching the Shackles realm, the gap between ordinary martial artists and those with bloodlines at the same level was enormous, especially against someone like Ning Ji'an, who possessed a top-tier bloodline. The middle-aged man believed that while there were indeed monstrous geniuses among ordinary martial artists, none could defeat Ning Ji'an so effortlessly. The Ning Family's bloodline greatly enhanced the physique. To injure Ning Ji'an would require strength at least in the Golden Core realm.
"Yes, my lord!" Ning Shu acknowledged the order. His figure flickered as ripples of formation energy spread around him, and he vanished.
"Remnants of those families? If their bloodlines and secret realms could be taken as well..." the middle-aged man murmured softly as he gazed into the distance, his expression unreadable.
***
As for attracting the Ning Family's attention, Lin Zheyu did not think much of it. When he had acted against Woo Yixuan, he had already been prepared for such consequences. He guessed that all sorts of information about him had likely already been placed in the archives of the three ancient esteemed families. Fortunately, he had severed ties with his former identity early on, leaving no traces that could bring trouble to the Wuji Sect. After all, he had nothing tying him down. If things turned bad, he could always make a clean escape. He was quite confident in his speed.
After parting ways with Han Ge and the others, he left the Profound Light Tower and returned to his small courtyard, beginning a monotonous life of bitter cultivation. Most of his time was spent comprehending various martial cultivation techniques and studying martial texts. Each day, he also set aside about four hours to study the Dao of formations he had obtained from Wu Di. The time he truly devoted to the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art was roughly four hours per day.
Time passed slowly. In cultivation, the passage of time went unnoticed. In the blink of an eye, three months had passed, and Great Wei had entered the height of summer. The seasons in the Martial Realm matched those outside, and the weather had grown much hotter. Over these months, Lin Zheyu had immersed himself almost entirely in cultivation. Although he had accepted Su Qingqing's Heavenly Works Token, he never went to attend the Heavenly Works Pavilion's Treasure Seizing Assembly.
Lost in his training, he had simply forgotten about it. Still, he did not feel much regret. No matter how good the treasures and artifacts at the assembly were, they were of little use to him now. He was poor, so poor that he could not even afford the energy needed to fuel his Origin Force enhancements.
At dusk, golden light bathed Lin Zheyu's face. His brow twitched slightly as he slowly opened his eyes, a hint of surprise flashing within them.
"Hm? A message from Ji Zitong! Has she already formed her Golden Core?" Lin Zheyu said in surprise.
He had just finished several days of cultivation. The moment he came back to himself, he noticed activity from the Spirit Resonance Sphere in his storage pouch. The message had been sent two days ago.
Ji Zitong said in the message, "Fellow Xiao, it has been quite some time since we last parted. I wonder if you have any time recently?"
"Does Ji Zitong need my help with something?" Lin Zheyu was slightly surprised upon seeing the message. He had expected a brief note announcing she had come out of seclusion and mentioning her Golden Core breakthrough. He hadn't expected something like this instead.
"Of course, I have time. I'm merely idling about. Would you like to come over for a chat?" Lin Zheyu replied with a thought, sending the message.
He slowly rose to his feet, about to head out for a stroll to relax, when another message from Ji Zitong came through.
"Indeed. I've been entrusted by someone with a matter and would like to ask for your help. I hope it won't be an inconvenience?" Ji Zitong said.
Just as expected...
Seeing the message, Lin Zheyu smiled faintly. He had quite liked working with Ji Zitong and the others last time. Without her invitation, he would likely have remained a lone wanderer and never gained so much.
"You're too polite. I'm currently in Yanwu City. If you're coming, just let me know in advance," Lin Zheyu replied.
"Then I'll trouble you with it."
With that, the exchange between them came to an end.
A hint of curiosity arose in Lin Zheyu's mind. Entrusted by someone... What could it be?
Given Ji Zitong's character, it likely wouldn't be anything unreasonable. With that thought, Lin Zheyu stopped dwelling on it. He would find out once she arrived. He turned his attention to the data within his consciousness.
[Heaven Rewards the Diligent]
[Name: Lin Zheyu]
[Origin Force: 513]
[Skills: Earth Shrinking Technique (Perfection), Primordial Concealment Technique (Perfection), Seven Absolute Sabers (Fifth Stage: 3%), Primordial Golden Body (Second Stage: 100%), Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art (First Stage: 36%), Spirit Martial Universe Secret Art—Advanced (Initiation: 18%)]
In just over three months, his Origin Force had risen to 513 units. During this time, Lin Zheyu hadn't spent a single unit as he was poor. He couldn't afford the massive energy required to advance the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art. Only after truly beginning cultivation did he realize how terrifying the energy required to nurture the divine repositories was.
"I really miss the demonic river in the demon god barrier..." Lin Zheyu muttered.
If he used demonic spirit stones as the energy source to enhance the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art, just thinking about the quantity needed made his heart ache. Simply maintaining his daily cultivation had already consumed over a dozen mid-grade spirit stones. Lin Zheyu finally understood why Fellow Bai Lin was so poor. Cultivating at the Divine Repository realm was simply too costly in spirit stones.
If he relied on Origin Force to advance, he would likely need a vast amount of demonic spirit stones as energy supplementation. After some thought, Lin Zheyu decided it would be more cost-effective to wait until he could enter the demon god barrier again and draw upon the immense energy of the demonic river.
I only have one mid-grade spirit stone left... should I find a way to sell that remaining Golden Core as well? Lin Zheyu murmured in thought.
The Golden Core in his storage pouch was quite valuable. If sold to a sword cultivator from the Soaring Sword Sect, it could fetch a good premium. Lin Zheyu still had that sword cultivator's contact from before.
However, he was reluctant to sell it. A Golden Core was something with a price but no market. Once sold, it would not be easy to acquire another if he needed one in the future.
"Forget it, I'll keep it for now. At worst, I'll spend the next few months accumulating Origin Force, building up my martial knowledge, and studying formations, instead of cultivating the Purple Firmament Repository Returning Art."
Lin Zheyu shook his head, abandoning the idea of selling the Golden Core.
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